Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total transaction of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Service Co. International Price Performance

SCI stock opened at $77.06 on Friday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $67.19 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.22.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SCI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.